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Much ink has been spilled in the days since South Carolina’s June 9th primary dunking on Nancy Mace. Her fifth-place finish brought out a host of background comments, and even saw the humiliated and deposed former speaker Kevin McCarthy take a moment to spike the ball. Since her inaugural run for office in 2014, Nancy has thrown her share of sharp elbows – and Tuesday night she took a hard one herself.
But, as the saying goes, I believe South Carolina will miss her when she’s gone from office.
It is a bittersweet feeling to be writing yet another piece of this nature. In 2018, I felt compelled to write a similar send off for Mark Sanford after his defeat to Katie Arrington in the Republican primary for South Carolina’s first congressional district. Working for Nancy in the 2022 primary for this seat was a double bonus for me – helping a friend while also ensuring the only way Arrington was going to Capitol Hill was as a tourist or a witness.
Nancy has had her share of good election nights, but June 9, 2026 was not one of them. I won’t dwell on her mistakes; this site has been a fair chronicler of what went right and what went wrong in this race for governor. But I do hope readers take away a fuller perspective of the woman who has shaken up the South Carolina House and will do the same in Washington for six more months.
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In today’s Congress we normally have a marked difference between work horses and show horses, with few being able to be both. In her time in the South Carolina House and in Congress Nancy Mace has been the rare member to be both. Most voters would have trouble spotting a House member in a line up, but Nancy has the distinction of being instantly recognizable even outside the world of politics.
She did not, however, sacrifice substance in attaining the notoriety she holds. Whether it was on stage with Bill Maher or on the Breakfast Club with Charlamagne tha God this daughter of Goose Creek demonstrated she was not your standard issue member of the Republican Caucus. Her thoughts on abortion, gay marriage, and law and order defied the boxes we too often put our elected officials in. And in this most recent campaign, she and Ralph Norman demonstrated they were the most policy-driven candidates in the race. That neither one of them is in the runoff is to South Carolina’s detriment.
Many have criticized Nancy for her attention-grabbing ways. I take another tack, and not just because she is a friend. In an era where power is usually concentrated at the White House and the Speaker’s Office – it takes a lot to break through the noise to have influence. Nancy’s ability to stand out and distinguish herself gave her heft that she otherwise would not have had. Matt Gaetz managed to do this, Marjorie Taylor Greene certainly did, and this allowed them to influence policy and conversations in ways where in the past it took seniority and tenure to be able to. One does not have to like every tweet or video to admit that Nancy’s efforts put her at the center of the conversation both in Congress and back home in South Carolina.
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It bears being said that the last few years of Nancy’s life has been a rollercoaster. Starting with her vote to boot McCarthy from the speakership she seemed to enter a category five hurricane season of her life. The implosion of her engagement to Patrick Bryant and the subsequent stories of abuse came in with her Hill DC staff leaving, McCarthy targeting her in a primary for revenge, and capped off with the passing of her father in the waning days of the governor’s race.
Dealing with just one of those circumstances could break a person. Nancy didn’t break, and I don’t believe that this latest result will cause her to either.
The ultimate compliment, and badge of courage for Nancy, was her stance on the release of the Epstein Files and holding predators to account. I have managed (consciously) to not mention Donald Trump, because Lord knows there is more to life than him. However, we do know that he has targeted each of the Republican 4 who were on the
discharge petition to release the Epstein Files. Marjorie retired, Thomas Massie was defeated, Lauren Boebert may get lucky only because of the Colorado filing deadline, and Trump opted to endorse Evette over Nancy.
If pleasing the president or achieving higher office was her goal – compromising on the Epstein Files release would’ve been price she had to pay. She didn’t pay it, and in so doing remained true to the 16-year-old version of herself in Goose Creek. If that is the epitaph of her political career then that is one she and all can be proud of.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Carlton Huffman is a native of the other Carolina. He has worked on campaigns throughout the Southeast and Wisconsin – including multiple campaigns for Nancy Mace.
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9 comments
I can’t say that (1) I voted for her in the primary Tuesday nor (2) am I a supporter of her in general terms – she has been my Congressional Rep/SC District 1.
SAVE FOR ONE ISSUE – the Epstein files. Her voracious pursuit of justice for those victims + prosecution of all offenders cancels all “the crazy stuff” – and there has been A TON of that (wearing PJ’s in the halls of Congress?!?!?) …
I wish her well, just the same. I met her once – she was in her second or third year @ El Cid and I congratulated her on being admitted.
I was in the first class of undergraduate women admitted to UVA…aside from the marching, it was not so different.
I’m sorry to hear about her father. But, bless her heart.
There is such thing as a willing prostitute; and some, perhaps most, do it for sheer greed or to feed addictions.
As far as we know, NONE of Jeffrey Epstein’s “victims” was kidnapped or PHYSICALLY coerced into “service.”
NOT a defense of Jeffrey Epstein, but a realistic analysis of the whole sordid saga and of Nancy Mace’s cynical and hypocritical pushing for the release of the Epstein files under false pretext of defending his “survivors.”
Realistically, it appears that Jeffrey Epstein was more of a cold-eyed spy master than a compulsive pedophile.
The use of sex to extract one warrior’s secrets for the benefit of the opposing camp is as ancient as Delilah pillow-talking Samson into revealing the secret of his strength; and no state intelligence agency of ANY country ever disavowed it.
Perhaps those miffed at Nancy Mace’s obsession with release of the Epstein files were more worried about revelations of spy rings than sex rings.
And the release of the call wherein Nancy Mace tries to recruit a woman who never thought of herself as raped or as videotaped while being raped after being drugged COMPLETELY eliminates the idea that Nancy Mace is herself a rape survivor who is trying to protect other rape survivors.
A TRUE rape survivor would NOT be pushing other women to confabulate rape stories knowing that it inevitably CHEAPENS the suffering of REAL rape victims and prevents other rape allegations from being taken seriously.
And look at how quickly Nancy Mace threw herself at the feet of Alan Wilson, whom she had accused of being a pedophile-enabler.
That taped phone call trying to manufacture rape cases against Nancy Mace’s former fiance’s business associates is CLEARLY criminal and NOT protected by the speech-and-debate clause. The revelation of that call IF there really is NO VIDEO of the other woman being raped should, in an honest system, subject Nancy Mace to a criminal probe and to expulsion from Congress.
And who, in an honest world, would lead such efforts? Alan Wilson while still SCAG and Joe Wilson while still functioning in Congress after his stroke.
Is it any wonder that Nancy Mace’s concession announcement was preceded by her call “burying the hatchet” with Alan Wilson?
Nancy Mace is not a courageous survivor-protector; she is a cowardly and opportunistic survivor manipulator.
There is such thing as a willing prostitute; and some, perhaps most, do it for sheer greed or to feed addictions.
As far as we know, NONE of Jeffrey Epstein’s “victims” was kidnapped or PHYSICALLY coerced into “service.”
NOT a defense of Jeffrey Epstein, but a realistic analysis of the whole sordid saga and of Nancy Mace’s cynical and hypocritical pushing for the release of the Epstein files under false pretext of defending his “survivors.”
Realistically, it appears that Jeffrey Epstein was more of a cold-eyed spy master than a compulsive pedophile.
The use of sex to extract one warrior’s secrets for the benefit of the opposing camp is as ancient as Delilah pillow-talking Samson into revealing the secret of his strength; and no state intelligence agency of ANY country ever disavowed it.
Perhaps those miffed at Nancy Mace’s obsession with release of the Epstein files were more worried about revelations of spy rings than sex rings.
And the release of the call wherein Nancy Mace tries to recruit a woman who never thought of herself as raped or as videotaped while being raped after being drugged COMPLETELY eliminates the idea that Nancy Mace is herself a rape survivor who is trying to protect other rape survivors.
A TRUE rape survivor would NOT be pushing other women to confabulate rape stories knowing that it inevitably CHEAPENS the suffering of REAL rape victims and prevents other rape allegations from being taken seriously.
And look at how quickly Nancy Mace threw herself at the feet of Alan Wilson, whom she had accused of being a pedophile-enabler.
That taped phone call trying to manufacture rape cases against Nancy Mace’s former fiance’s business associates is CLEARLY criminal and NOT protected by the speech-and-debate clause. The revelation of that call IF there really is NO VIDEO of the other woman being raped should, in an honest system, subject Nancy Mace to a criminal probe and to expulsion from Congress.
And who, in an honest world, would lead such efforts? Alan Wilson while still SCAG and Joe Wilson while still functioning in Congress after his stroke.
Is it any wonder that Nancy Mace’s concession announcement was preceded by her call “burying the hatchet” with Alan Wilson?
Nancy Mace is not a courageous survivor-protector; she is a cowardly and opportunistic survivor manipulator.
You are correct. Many SC citizens will miss her. Her bipolar antics, crazed outbursts, her constant flip-flop support for issues. That always gave us entertainment to see what her next dumb ass move would be. On the bright side I hear Waffle House is hiring
No we will not. Maybe at some point she was a decent person who fought for good things, but we will not miss this drama queen who never turned down an opportunity to make herself the victim. Her disgusting campaign of terror against trans people, and especially the only trans member of Congress, was absolutely shameful.
How can we miss her if she won’t go away?
I will not miss Nancy. When the attack on the Capitol occurred, she stood up to Trump, and I was impressed. Then she backtracked on everything. She tried to tie herself as closely as possible to Trump, showing she was, in fact, as spineless as every other Republican from South Carolina. So, no, I will not miss her, and I will not miss Ralph, who called for suspending the Constitution and a military takeover of the Country to keep Trump in power. If I hear from either of them again, it will be too soon.
There’s too many clowns in DC to miss the angry drunk one. Now she has the opportunity to begin her real passion in street graffiti though.